Wei-Han "Bobby" Liu, Cookeville, Tenn., won a silver medal, and Eric Brown, Chattanooga, Tenn., Benjamin Kaduk, Naperville, Ill, and Frances Hocutt, Redondo Beach, Calif., each won a bronze.
More than 200 students from some 60 countries participated in this year's competition July 5-14. The U.S. Chemistry Olympiad is organized and sponsored by the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
The Chinese team was the only one to earn four gold medals. Iran and Thailand each won three gold medals and a silver, and India and South Korea each left with two gold medals and two silvers. For the first time in the history of the Chemistry Olympiad a student from Belarus, a former Soviet republic in Eastern Europe, achieved the highest score overall.
The Olympiad competition is designed to be about as difficult as mid-level college chemistry courses. The core of the competition is a five-hour exam on chemistry theory plus another five hours of laboratory experiments and procedures.
The four students were selected at the conclusion of a rigorous two-week training camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., in June. They and 16 other students from around the nation received college-level training, with an emphasis on organic chemistry, through a series of lectures, problem-solving exercises, lab work and testing. More than 10,000 high school students nationwide took local exams vying for a chance at one of the 20 slots.
A strong competitor over the years, the U.S. team achieved "best in the world" status in 1999 with three gold medals, including the top gold, and one silver. An American team member also won the top gold medal in 2000.
The International Chemistry Olympiad originated with Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary in 1968. Other eastern European countries soon joined the event, and western Europe began participating in 1974. The first U.S. team competed in 1984, winning one silver and two bronze medals.
The American Chemical Society has coordinated and sponsored the American team annually since the U.S. joined the Olympiad. Principal funding is through the Society's Othmer Olympiad Endowment, with additional support from the U.S. Air Force Academy, IBM Research, Merck Publishing Group, Texas Instruments, Inc., W.H. Freeman & Company, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Advanced Chemistry Development and Harcourt College Publishers.
The U.S. team:
Eric Brown, Chattanooga, Tenn. — He will be a senior next fall at McCallie School in Chattanooga. He has worked for Habitat for Humanity, helping to build two houses over the past two years. Since the seventh grade, Eric has been a member of his school swim team, which has won five state titles during that period. He is the son of Phil and Jackie Brown.
Wei-Han "Bobby" Liu, Cookeville, Tenn. — He recently graduated from Cookeville High School and will be attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall. He plans to major in either chemistry or chemical engineering. Bobby was a U.S. Physics Team semifinalist, a USA Math Olympiad qualifier, a USA Biology Olympiad semifinalist and captain of the 6th place team at the National Science Bowl. Bobby attended the 2002 Olympiad Study Camp. He is the son of Yung-Way and Chung-Yuan Liu.
Frances Hocutt, Redondo Beach, Calif. — She recently graduated from Redondo Union High School and will be attending Harvey Mudd College this fall, where she plans to major in chemistry. Frances was editor of the High Tide, her school newspaper. She placed fourth in the Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon, was a National Merit finalist and made the honor roll all four years in high school. She was part of the Science Olympiad at local and state levels, placed fourth in local competition for the Science Bowl and participated in the 2002 Olympiad Study Camp. She is the daughter of Anne Fay and John Hocutt.
Benjamin Kaduk, Naperville, Ill. — He recently graduated from Naperville North High School and will be attending the University of Illinois in the fall, where he plans to major in chemistry. An individual state champion in math and the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) competition, Ben was a member of the state math championship team for four years and the state WYSE team for two years. In addition, he was the highest scoring student in the American Scholastic Mathematics Association national exam for Illinois and was a National Merit finalist. He is the son of James and Catherine Kaduk.